Seven on the Seventh

We met last Wednesday for our 7th meeting, and we had a record 7 folks in attendance. Count 'em up: Sue, Rich, Joe, Paul, Linda, Tithi, and Steve (that would be me). Very cool.

We also added a new meeting location to the list, so if you're keeping one of those maps (like I am)* that they have at Chili's with the push pins at all the locations, you can stick markers in Oakdale, Farmingdale, Valley Stream, Woodbury, and now Happaugue. For it was Paul coming through with the hosting this past week, and although there was no jelly, he did provide us with chips & salsa (in a made-for-salsa bowl) and a couple of pizzas. It was pretty sportin' of him, I'd say, considering he doesn't even dig pizza all that much. And it worked out great for me, 'cause I took home the leftovers.

* (I'm really not.)

As usual, "a great time was had by all." Among the contributors, we had Linda leading things off with a very cool poem about a past personal situation. Rich followed with some thoughts on the role numbers play in our lives (it was great, but I think I blew his whole trip when I pointed out that one of his statistics—namely the age when he got married—was flawed. True, I didn't know him back then, but I know a mistaken number when I hear it, none-the-less.) Paul offered some observations about folks on the beach (great people-watching stuff). Joe gave us two more chapters from the land of Oz and taught us about Dragon tea. Sue discussed the little-known (in this area) sport of candle pin bowling in an amusing memoir. And I opined about some issues regarding notoriety and the insignificance of our lives in a piece called, "The Draft Pick (You are Insignificant)."
Tithi opted to just participate as a listener, which was also great, because even our listeners are contributors, taking part in the discussions and the fun. In fact, Rich was the only one who I heard saying, "I wish she'd jut go home....how dare she not bring a piece to read!" I tried to settle him down and told him, "Dude, you're way out of line! The rest of us are happy she's here," but he just folded his arms and pouted when I said that.

Seriously, though, on a personal note, I want to say "thanks again" (or am I saying "thanks," again?...hmmm... ) for the great gathering. Rich remarked (for real, this time) that these Coffee Crew nights have become evenings that he really looks forward to, and I agree fully. It's really good stuff, involving fun, friends, creativity, big laughs, good discussion. It's like, we have the depth to delve into topics about the deepest meanings of life, and, on the flip side, we're so unpretentious that we'll just as soon engage in discussions about mutant space-nerd stuff. I think it's a winning combination.

So, I hope to see y'all again real soon--and for those of you who still haven't made it down, I would love seeing y'all, too.